Karen Weatherington is entering her second season as the head volleyball coach at Hampton University, taking over a program that had won 32 matches over the past two seasons prior to her arrival and elevating to the next level. She guides a program that won its first-ever MEAC Tournament crown last season, and she looks to continue building the program toward the future.
In Weatherington’s first season, the Lady Pirates matched a program Div. I record for wins in a season with 19, going 10-2 in conference play to win their first-ever MEAC Northern Division regular-season title. Hampton, which also went undefeated at home for the first time in program history, also took its first-ever MEAC Tournament crown, beating Coppin State in five sets for the title and the automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
The Lady Pirates, who led the nation in service aces as a team, drew No. 7 seed Stanford in the first round.
Along the way, Weatherington saw junior rightside Vendula Strakova named the MEAC Player of the Year – becoming the first Lady Pirate in history to win the award. Strakova, who led the nation in points in 2013, was also named the MEAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Strakova, a five-time MEAC Player of the Week in 2013, also became the first player in Hampton history to be recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), after earning National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 3, the junior was named an Honorable Mention All-American and All-East Region.
She was also named Player of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).
Junior outside hitter Krista Kraskura and senior setter Bibiany Fonseca were each named Second Team All-MEAC.
In addition, the Lady Pirates won the Team Academic Award from the AVCA. The MEAC also awarded nine members of the volleyball team, naming them 2013-14 All-Academic honrees.
Weatherington came to Hampton from Kennesaw State, where she spent four seasons. With Weatherington at the helm, the Owls have compiled an overall record of 63-56 (.529), and established single-season school records for wins (17), in 2009 and 2010, and winning percentage (.607) in 2010.
In 2012, Weatherington led Kennesaw State to a 16-17 overall record, including a 5-13 mark in the Atlantic Sun. Junior setter Sara Metroka was named to the Atlantic Sun’s All-Academic Team.
The high watermark under Weatherington came in 2010, when Kennesaw State posted a 17-11 overall record, including a 9-1 mark in the Atlantic Sun, and made its second straight A-Sun Conference Tournament appearance. The Owls' performance led to Weatherington being named the A-Sun Coach of the Year.
The year was highlighted by an eight-match winning streak, including seven straight in conference play. Sabrita Gulley became KSU’s first player to be named First Team All-Atlantic Sun. Alyssa Lang earned Second Team All-Conference recognition, while Metroka and Camille Pedraza were named to the A-Sun Conference All-Freshman Team.
The 2009 campaign marked a series of firsts for the Owls, as Asjia Stokes became the first Owl to earn A-Sun Conference Player of the Week honors. Gulley became KSU's first player to earn all-conference honors when she was selected to the second team.
Kennesaw State also registered its first winning season in program history after posting a 17-12 record. The Owls also recorded a school-record 11 conference wins and made their debut in the A-Sun Conference Tournament during their first year of eligibility.
The 2011 season saw Kennesaw State record a 13-16 overall record, including an 8-5 conference mark, and a third consecutive A-Sun Conference Tournament appearance. The year was highlighted by Lang earning first team all-conference honors, Justine Young being named second team all-conference and Metroka's selection to the A-Sun Conference's All-Academic Team.
Kennesaw State made three straight conference tournament appearances under Weatherington.
Weatherington came to Kennesaw State after six seasons at Butler, including the last four as associate head coach. During that time, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 90-86 (.511). While at Butler, Weatherington worked as the program’s recruiting coordinator off the court and with the middle blockers on the court.
In 2008, the Bulldogs finished with 2.31 blocks per set, good for second in the Horizon League.
Prior to her time at Butler, Weatherington was the top assistant coach at Clemson for two seasons. She joined the Tigers' coaching staff following coaching stints at Duke and Iowa State.
While at Butler and Clemson, Weatherington helped recruit and coach four All-Americans.
While at Iowa State, Weatherington made an impact off the court, serving on the Iowa Heart Volleyball Association Board of Directors, an organization responsible for revitalizing interest in volleyball within the community. She also was head coach and technical director of the Cyclone Cylect Volleyball Club and served as the instructional coach for the USA Volleyball Youth National Team Trials from 1997-2000.
During the spring of 2004, Weatherington was the head coach of the Pike Fire Inferno 18 Elite Volleyball team.
Weatherington's involvement in volleyball also included serving as an instructor at the Midwest Volleyball Instructors Elite Volleyball Camp and as a presenter at the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Convention Minority Coaches Clinic from 1997-2003.
Weatherington’s coaching career began 17 years ago, when she was the top assistant coach at her alma mater, New Mexico State. A standout with the Aggies, Weatherington competed internationally, traveling to Russia, Finland, and Sweden prior to her final season at New Mexico State.
A well-respected figure in the volleyball community, Weatherington has been instrumental in the advancement of Division I women’s volleyball. She became the Horizon League’s representative on the AVCA's Assistant Coaches Committee in the fall of 2004. One year later, she began a three-year term as Assistant Coaches' Chair on the AVCA National Board of Directors.
Weatherington also is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta public service sorority, the AVCA (where she serves on the Minority Coaches Committee), the Black Coaches Association, USA Volleyball, the Women’s Sports Foundation, the Alliance of Women Coaches, and the Graduate NCAA Women Coaches Academy.
Weatherington graduated from New Mexico State in 1988 with a degree in journalism, while she also double-minored in psychology and marketing. She completed her masters of science in education with an emphasis in instructional technology from Butler in 2006.
Weatherington has presented at conferences for the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Association and the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association. She also participated on the NCAA/NCLR Think Tank on Homophobia in Sport. Most recently, she presented at the AVCA Convention in Tampa, Fla., on a panel entitled “So You Want to Be a Head Coach?”
She has also presented at conventions about Networking in Coaching and Work/Life Balance for Coaching Moms, and she had an article published in Coaching Volleyball magazine titled
“The Making of a Middle: Challenge Training for Middle Blockers.” In addition, Weatherington has conducted training presentations on defensive systems, middle blockers, opponent scouting, attack transition, serve and serving response, and serving to score.
Weatherington and her husband Eddie have a 12-year old daughter, Zoe.
